Selanne returning to Ducks.
Another dispatch from the road, where word travels fast that 40-year-old right wing Teemu Selanne is returning to the Ducks for another season. Selanne, who is still in his native Finland, agreed to a 1-year, $3.25 million contract.
Selanne spoke to the media via conference call earlier today (transcript can be found here), as did general manager Bob Murray (comments here).
Selanne gets a slight raise on last year's contract, but it's still below market rate for a player who scored 27 goals in a mere 54 games last season. He doesn't immediately make the Ducks a playoff contender -- how well a rebuilt, Scott Niedermayer-less defense can perform is the critical question now -- but Selanne does ensure that the league's fifth-best power play won't take a huge step backward next season.
Selanne spoke to the media via conference call earlier today (transcript can be found here), as did general manager Bob Murray (comments here).
Selanne gets a slight raise on last year's contract, but it's still below market rate for a player who scored 27 goals in a mere 54 games last season. He doesn't immediately make the Ducks a playoff contender -- how well a rebuilt, Scott Niedermayer-less defense can perform is the critical question now -- but Selanne does ensure that the league's fifth-best power play won't take a huge step backward next season.
About J.P.
J.P. Hoornstra has been covering the Anaheim Ducks since 2007. Eight months after the University of Wisconsin won its third NCAA hockey championship, he was born in a frigid Madison winter. He betrayed his blue-blooded beginnings by graduating from UCLA in 2003, and welcomes any and all dialogue on the finer points of hockey.
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